According to a report from Indonesian meteorological experts, the most likely cause of the tragic crash of AirAsia flight QZ8501 was not turbulence (as was previously believed), but actual chunks of ice inside the Airbus A320's engine.

As a kid (or, let's be honest, even as an a adult), nothing is more thrilling than getting to venture into an airline pilot's coveted cockpit throne. But if Arbus' new cockpit-less patents ever become a reality, those days are behind us. Because let's face it—a "tour of the baggage locker" just doesn't have quite the…

It's probably quite a bit different when you see one from inside a plane, but from down here on the ground, watching airplane evacuation slides deploy is pretty damn mesmerizing. Thankfully, Core77 just uncovered some great footage of the slides being both made and tested.

They are the grey eminences of aviation. They are doing what they have to do without any ado. We hardly notice them when we take a flight from A to B. However, cargo aircraft can be as interesting and special as fighter planes or passenger aircraft. We are going to prove this.

Excited about flying home for Thanksgiving to see your family and friends' shining faces? Well, you won't be after reading this! Because according to a soon-to-be released study commissioned by the FAA, if it weren't for automated systems, our pilots would suck at flying—bad.

GE's monster, GEnx turbofan is a marvel of modern tech that completely changed conventional turbofan design. But just because it creates a massive amount of pressure by actually containing burning air and fuel in the combustor itself doesn't mean its not still a labor of love. As you can see in GE's timelapse above,…

Aerospace engineers have come up with some revolutionaryforward-thinkingamazing straight-up insane designs. Sometimes these dreams never make it off the drawing board, but sometimes—some wonderful times—they become real. And when these alien bodies lift off into the firmament, it's like watching a spaceship…

Looking more UFO than UAV, the Japanese Defense Ministry has created a spherical surveillance drone which they have deemed the world's first. Designed for use in urban areas, the menacing, all-black machine can fly up to 37 miles-per-hour.

A research team at the University Southampton have built a functioning aircraft from a 3D printer. Though it's a fraction of the size of a normal aircraft (its wingspan is 6.5 feet), future plane designs might find the design techniques valuable.

This is Sikorsky's new attack helicopter, the X2 Raider. It's based on the 299.2mph X2, but it will be able to carry troops and weapons at extreme altitude. And according to Sikorsky, it's almost as silent as the fictional Airwolf.

They copy computers, cellphones, cameras, video players, watches, bags, and everything man-made—but did you know that the Chinese also copy entire combat airplanes? It's simple: They buy one and measure every part and system to clone it.

If you're still sad-faced about never getting a go in Concorde we have yet more bad news—air travel is getting slower again. This time we're warping back to 1930s flight speeds, thanks to a new wave of cargo blimps.

Feast your eyes in these detailed videos of the beast that is designed to match-and-crush 5th generation American combat jets. It's the Sukhoi PAK-FA, and it comes loaded with some amazing technology from the other side of the fallen wall.

Remember the fiery X-51's scramjet test that looked like hell? This is the final aircraft—the Waverider—ready for its maiden flight. It'll fly at Mach 6 for 300 seconds. So fast that its nose will reach 2696º Fahrenheit.

The Air Force's Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2—designed to attack global targets at Mach 20—has disappeared nine minutes into its first test flight, just after separating from its booster. Contact was lost, and it hasn't been found yet.

In March 3, 1916, the US Congress founded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, only a 12 years after the Wright Brothers' first ever flight. In 1920, they built their first wind tunnel. And in 1958, it became NASA.